• Coop Housing: Part of the solution to Kaua’i’s housing problem Coop Housing: Part of the solution to Kaua’i’s housing problem By JOANN YUKIMURA The need for affordable housing on Kaua’i is becoming painfully apparent. It is evidenced by the
• Coop Housing: Part of the solution to Kaua’i’s housing problem
Coop Housing: Part of the solution to Kaua’i’s housing problem
By JOANN YUKIMURA
The need for affordable housing on Kaua’i is becoming painfully apparent. It is evidenced by the large number of homeless living in beach parks, in cars, and sometimes even at the County Building. It is demonstrated by the crowding of two or three families into single-family homes — a common occurrence on Kaua’i. It is seen in the median house price on Kaua’i of $380,000—which means that half the houses on Kaua’i are priced over $380,000! It is also shown by the number of families and individuals who have left the island because they can’t afford to live here.
The lack of affordable housing affects all of us in one way or the other. Many of us have family members who have left the island by necessity rather than choice. Teachers know students who don’t have a physically conducive home environment and thus find it hard to concentrate and do homework. Employers have workers who are living in cars. Or, business owners can’t find workers because there aren’t enough on the island, partly due to the lack of affordable housing. Some employers are hiring people from off island, but those employees, including local young people coming back to Kaua’I, are having difficulty finding housing when they get here. Some people have been lucky enough to buy homes, but they have essentially mortgaged their lives in order to live on Kaua’i, with little monthly income to cover food, clothing, college savings and other needs after they have made their monthly rent or mortgage payment. Parents of young children worry about how their children, when their children grow up, will ever be able to afford a house on Kaua’i. And Kaua’i is in danger of becoming a community of mainly rich people and losing its diversity, its longevity of residents, and the synergy and balance of a mixed community.
As with most problems, the solution is multi-faceted. I believe we need to require every development to do its share of affordable housing. Some communities go further and require that that share of affordable housing be done onsite so as to result in mixed communities rather than neighborhoods segregated by income. If we require all developers to provide a share of affordable housing, the public sector needs to do its part in providing basic infrastructural support such as water, sewers, roads, and rapid permit processing. But we can only do that if we have a clear plan as to where growth should go and where it shouldn’t, because we cannot afford to provide infrastructure and services everywhere — that would bankrupt our community (and make our island look very ugly, destroying the open space and rural character that are the basis of our economy and our quality of life). Government also needs to provide low interest financing (interim and long terms loans) to developers of low and very low income housing as well as to individual home buyers.
Finally, in a real estate market where the world is our customer, we need to provide affordable housing that is insulated from the market, otherwise, in a market such as we have today, houses will go out of the affordable range faster than we can build them. Publicly owned rental housing such as the Kalepa Village project is generally insulated from the market, but it doesn’t provide the many wonderful benefits of homeownership, and it requires government to manage the projects in perpetuity. The one way we can provide homeownership AND insulation from the market — i.e., permanent affordability — is through Limited Equity Housing, better known as cooperative housing.
A national expert on coop housing, David Thompson, will be coming to speak on Kaua’i this week, and I’d like to invite anyone interested in learning more about this housing option/solution to come to hear him at one of his public presentations.
- Jan. 27 7:30 p.m., Kapa’a Community Workshop, Kapa’a Middle Sch, Rm E103
- Jan. 28 5:30 p.m., Kilauea Community Workshop, Kilauea Sch. Cafeteria, Kilauea,
- Jan. 28 7:30 p.m., Hanalei Community Workshop, ale Halawai, Hanalei
- Jan. 29 noon, Hanalei Bay Rotary Club (members only)*, Princeville Hotel, La Cascata
- Jan. 29 2:15 p.m., Kaua’i County Council, Council Chambers, Historic County Bldg, Lihu’e
- Jan. 29 5:30 p.m., Southshore Community Workshop, Koloa Library, Koloa
- 7:30 p.m., Westside Workshop, Site To be Determined
I’d like to thank the people who have made his trip possible: The Kaua’i Board of Realtors, Self-Help Housing of Kaua’i, Kiahuna Mauka Partners, LLC., Kilauea Town Properties, Sleeping Giant Realty, Paul Kyno, I’d also like to thank the co-sponsors: Council Chair Asing, Councilmembers Furfaro, Rapozo, and Senator Gary Hooser.
Please come to one of the presentations. We must learn all we can; then we must take action. What a legacy we will create if we can find a way to provide present and future generations of Kauaians with affordable housing on this island that we love.
JoAnn Yukimura is a former mayor and current council member.
